As known, plastic containers can be produced out of preforms in a stretch-blowing process.
As an alternative to inflating the container with pressurized air, the EP 1529620 B1 describes a process for hydraulic reshaping of preforms into plastic bottles. For this purpose, the preforms are at first heated, inserted in a hollow mold and stretched there in a longitudinal direction. Further, mineral water or the like is added with overpressure in order to produce the final container shape. The mineral water remains in the container so that a subsequent separate bottling process can be omitted.
The US 2011/0031659 A1 further describes a process in which a heated preform is stretched by means of a stretching rod and then dilated hydraulically into a container by means of an incompressible fluid, especially water. Afterwards, the fluid is displaced by pressurized air and flows out of the container.
A form-filling machine according to the definition comprises at least one treatment station for expanding reshaping of plastic preforms into plastic containers in a hollow mold and for filling of a substantially liquid product or at least a liquid or solid component of the product into the plastic containers.
Liquids, also those that contain dissolved carbon dioxide or the like, are, by definition in accordance with their function during molding and filling of the containers, incompressible fluids in contrast to gases that are functionally defined as compressible fluids.